Claims of retaliatory jailing made against ex-DA Walter Reed get new life in court

An Arkansas man’s claims that former North Shore District Attorney Walter Reed wrongfully kept him in jail in retaliation for providing the FBI information about Reed’s dealings with a Franklinton pastor now have new life in federal court.

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Tuesday (Jan. 8) reversed a district court ruling that dismissed Roger Magee’s claims of wrongful imprisonment and free speech retaliation against Reed and Jerry Wayne Cox, pastor at Faith Tabernacle Church. Judges Carl E. Stewart, James L. Dennis and Don R. Willett sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.

Magee filed a lawsuit in 2014, claiming Reed and Cox orchestrated his arrest that year and that Reed kept him in jail for about 100 days without bond because he had provided the FBI information about the pair.

U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle later dismissed Magee’s claims against Reed and Cox, whose relationship figured in Reed’s 2016 federal corruption trial in which Reed was found guilty of wire fraud, mail fraud and other charges.

But the appeals court panel said this week that the district court erred when it dismissed Magee’s false imprisonment and free speech retaliation claims on grounds that they required proof that his arrest for failure to pay child support was not supported by probable cause. “We disagree,” the appeals court ruled. “Magee’s claims stem not from his arrest but from his denial of bail.”

Magee was eventually released from jail after agreeing to plead guilty to failure to pay child support and to resisting an officer.

The appeals court also ruled Magee was denied due process by the district court.

In seeking the dismissal, Reed provided the federal court with a state court minute entry that showed the court had set a $750 bond on Magee’s charge of resisting arrest and did not set bond for the child support charge, the appeals court said. Reed used the document in an attempt to show that neither he nor anyone from his office was present at the bond hearing for Magee, the appeals court wrote.

Meanwhile, Magee submitted declarations from his attorney, his aunt and himself to establish he had been denied bail subject to a “DA HOLD.”

The appeals court panel said, “We conclude that the existence of a mysterious and unheard-of ‘DA HOLD’ could lead a reasonable juror to believe that the district attorney or his office was engaged in some sort of foul play or direct intervention with Magee’s ability to receive bail.”

Because there was a legitimate dispute over the existence of the “DA HOLD,” the court erred by granting a summary judgment dismissing the claims against Reed, the appeals court said.

Reed served as district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes for 30 years before opting not to seek re-election in 2014 as federal agents investigated his activities.

During Reed’s corruption trial in 2016, Cox testified that the then-district attorney gave $25,000 in campaign funds to his Washington Parish church in 2013 after the pastor referred a civil case to Reed and other private lawyers. The case eventually netted a settlement of $2 million to $3 million.

Federal prosecutors said Reed improperly used campaign funds to pay Cox. The jury found Reed guilty of wire fraud in connection with the payment.

Reed appealed his convictions but was rejected by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit. He is now asking for a rehearing before the full court.